Improvement in sewing-machines for boots and shoes



HENRY S. VROOMAN.

Sewing-Machine. PIG-127,662., Patentedjune 4,1872.

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HENRY S. VROOMAN, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

IMPROVEMENT IN SEWING-MACHINES FOR BOOTS AND SHOES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 127,662, dated June 4,1872. v

To 'all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HENRY S. -VROOMAN, of Boston, in the county ofSuffolk and State of Massachusetts, have invented an Improvement inMachines for Sewing Boots and Shoes; and I do hereby declare that thefollowing, taken in connection with the drawing which accompanies andforms part of this specification, is a description of my inventionsufficient to enable those skilled in the art to practice it. p

The invention relates to the process of sewin g that class of shoesknown as turns, in whichthe shoe being made without an inner soletheupper and outer sole are-united by a. series of stitches'passing throughthe outer sole at the edge thereof and through the edge of the upper orvamp, the shoe being wrong side out in the process of uniting, and beingsubsequently turned to finish the shoe. In the usual or most commonmethods of uniting the parts by mechanism the inner face of the sole isformed with a gash or channel, cut with an inclination toward the edge,while at the edge the upper surface is cut away in such manner as toleave an edge of uniform thickness to form the finished outer edge ofthe sole. In my method of uniting the soles and uppers I use such soles,and before applying the sole to the last, or before commencing to unitethe parts, I mold the edge, or bend it outward in the direction of thewearing-surface of the sole in such manner as to make a rigid bend, orone that will remain rigid during the sewing operation, this bendstarting at or under the channel and leaving an open angular groovearound the entire length of the inner face of the sole, which groove isbounded on one side by the flap formed by opening the channel in bendingthe edge of the sole. Having the sole in this condition, and the upperand sole applied to the last and in relative position to be united, Iemploy in the machine, or in connection with the stitchformingmechanism, a stationary guide and f gauge-bar for a rest or support forthe bentsole edge and for a gauge and guide for the edge, said barbeing'made with an inclined face, against which the bent face of thesole, from the edge to the flap, rests, and with a narrow face orshoulder corresponding in width to the thickness of the sole-edge, andsupporting said edge in position against the thrust of the awl andneedle, the rest'not only acting as a guide to the sole in itsfeed-movement, and as a support to resist the thrust of the needle, butalso as a gauge to control or determine the distance from the edge orouter face of the sole at which the awl and needlepoints shall enter thesole. It is this pecular guide and gauge-bar, in combination with thesewing mechanism, that constitutes my invention. I

The drawing shows the gauge and guidebar in connection with sufficientof the sewing-machine mechanism to show the relative disposition of themechanism and the method of uniting the parts.

A shows the mechanism in side elevation. B is a top view of the bar byitself. a denotes the sewing-machine post; b, the needle-bar; c, thehook-needle, the needle-bar being under the shoe, and the needle risingto seize the thread; d, the awl-bar; and e, the awl, the awl-bar beingabove the work, and the awl descending to puncture the sole and upperpreparatory to the rise of the needle, the needle passing through thehole so punctured. f

.denotes the outer sole, and g the upper. h is the channel formed in thesole; 6, the angle formed at the edge; is, the edge, bent down; and l,the lip or flap, turned up by bending down the edge It". The sole, thuschanneled, and with the temporary but comparatively rigid bend allaround it, is confined upon the sole-face of a suitable last, 122, withthe upper in such position relative thereto as will bring the parts inproper position to be united. The shoe is now presented to the machineby resting the sole-edge face n upon the rest-face. or lip o of theguide-bar p, the shank q of which bar is fastened to the sewing-machineframe. While the edge at thus rests upon the face or lip 0, the flap land the portion of the sole between the flap and the edge u will be bentover against the incline or face 1" of the gaugebar by the pressure ofthe channel-foot s, which foot not only serves to thus press suchportion of the sole against the face 1', but also holds the squareedge-face nupon the lip o. By such arrangement of the rest andguidingfaces they determine the point at which the awl and needle shallenter the sole, insuring the passage of the awl-point through the angleof the channel and the uniformity in dis tance of the line of stitchesfrom the edgeface it.

I claim-- In combination with the channel-foot s and the stitch-formingmechanism, the rest and guide, constructed as shown, and operating tosupport and guide the edge of the sole, which is bent over, and. also tosupport the flap, as shown and described.

' H. S. VBOOMAN.

v Witnesses:

FRANCIS GOULD, L. H. LATIMER.

